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Mercy, Iowa Health move forward with West Des Moines hospital plans

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Mercy Medical Center will present plans for a 239,000-square-foot, 80-bed hospital to the West Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission at its Dec. 13 meeting, according to a city planning official

The planned five-story structure, to be located on a 12-acre site on 59th Place between Westown Parkway and University Avenue, could become the first full-service hospital to receive approval to be built in West Des Moines. The plans indicate the building could be expanded by two floors in the future to become a 146-bed hospital.

“It’s the next step in the process that we’ve been talking about for a long time,” said Joe LeValley, Mercy’s senior vice president for planning and system development. “You can’t finalize architectural drawings until you know the footprint of the building. It’s a long process to plan a project like this.”

Mercy appears to be just one step ahead of Iowa Health – Des Moines, which last week filed pre-application paperwork with the city for two possible sites it’s considering for a West Des Moines hospital: its original site at 60th Street north of Westown Parkway and an alternate site at 1776 West Lakes Parkway.

In April 2004, the State Health Facilities Council denied a request by Iowa Health for a certificate of need for the 60th Street site, which is located in Dallas County. In August, Iowa Health purchased an interest in the West Lakes Parkway site, a 260,000-square-foot office complex that’s within Polk County. Its current occupant, Marsh Inc., plans to vacate the buildings when its headquarters is completed.

Because Mercy’s building site is situated just to the east of the Dallas County line within Polk County, the hospital apparently will not be required to obtain a certificate of need from the Health Facilities Council. The new West Des Moines hospital will replace Mercy Capitol on Des Moines’ East Side, which Mercy has said it plans to close.

Barb Nervig, who manages the certificate of need program, said Mercy officials have told her they plan to file a request for a formal declaration from the Health Facilities Council to confirm that state approval is not needed for its project. Nervig said Iowa Health has also indicated it plans to file paperwork soon with her office, and that it has indicated the 60th Street site is its first choice.

On Dec. 18 the West Des Moines City Council is expected to consider Mercy’s request for approval of the site plan and possibly a preliminary plat, said Chris Shires, the city’s planning and development coordinator. Additionally, the council is expected to hear a first reading of a request to change the zoning for the site, with final approval of the rezoning likely to be considered at its Jan. 2 meeting, he said.

The land is currently zoned as a professional commerce park district; the rezoning would change that to a planned unit development. Shires said a hospital is a permitted use under the present zoning, but the PUD designation would allow for greater flexibility in site planning.

LeValley said Mercy hasn’t set a groundbreaking date yet. “We’re months away from doing anything construction-wise,” he said.